Ripple vs Bitcoin: Selling, Storing and Differences

Cryptocurrencies and their founding technology, Blockchain, have already integrated themselves into our everyday life and many individuals usually end up getting confused or lost in the massive number of cryptocurrencies available out there. Among all of them, Bitcoin, the first and leading digital coin is the most popular. However, as of now, Ripple coins, XRP, is quickly becoming among the most distinguishable coins out there, backed by its massive fan-base and investors from each of the four corners of the world. To start off, what separates both cryptocurrencies?

Initial Intent

Bitcoin (BTC) was initially created as a virtual currency payment method for products and services. On the other hand, Ripple was made for financial institutions such as banks and payment providers, fund transfer systems and cryptocurrency exchanges.

Ripple’s original intent was to provide a platform, or system, of straight, instant fund transfers at incredibly cheaper costs with more transparency provided and added protection and security than currently operational payment systems like SWIFT.

The Developing Teams

Bitcoin is currently operated by a dedicated team of developers. Bitcoin was also created as a completely decentralized system, meaning that no company, bank, or figure of official authority may be able to control it. As for the creators behind the coin, many believe that the coin was created by either one man or a certain team of like-minded developers acting as one individual under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto.

Ripple was created by a legitimate and officially registered organization with a set plan of objectives and group of investors named the Ripple company and was launched in 2012. During 2015 to 2016, Ripple operated offices in Australia and the United Kingdom, as well as Luxembourg.

Tech

BTC is a digital currency based on blockchain-tech using what is known as mining, essential a PoW. Ripple utilizes a frequentative consensus ledger and verification servers network with its own native coin, the XRP. Ripple’s network is maintained by many standalone servers that are consistently comparing transaction history among each other and a new ledger is generated on a one-second basis.

Cryptocurrency Mining and More

Unlike Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Ripple does not involve mining for its coins whatsoever. In this regard, Bitcoin and Ripple are completely different. Those that mine on Bitcoin are usually granted rewards in Bitcoin after each successful mining of a block.

On Ripple’s side, XRP coins don’t involve any mining due to the fact that all of its 100 billion XRP coins have already been mined and are released by Ripple itself. Out of its entire supply, around 38 billion are in circulation with the rest being held by the company and released into the market on a regular basis of their choosing. Bitcoin only has around 21 billion coins in total and are all mined by cryptocurrency miners.

Additionally, Bitcoins are owned globally while Ripple owns 60% of its entire supply although the price of each token is significantly lower than Bitcoin’s. Ripple also takes around four seconds to fully complete a transaction, incredibly faster than that of Bitcoin’s which takes about 10 minutes, give or take.

Utilization

In terms of utility, Bitcoin is used as money, allowing users to pay for daily conveniences like a cup of coffee or a movie ticket. Ripple’s objective is to be used as a means of facilitating trades with other currencies or commodity trading across its platform.

Ripple’s network is fully decentralized as an exchange platform and Bitcoin involves centralized currency exchanges. This means that participants on Ripple’s platform are meant to exchange Ripple tokens for US dollars and through its network, it forsakes the need for a medium or third-party involvement.

Comparison

Between Ripple and Bitcoin, the cost of transaction’s is incredibly significant. Bitcoin is very expensive as the company charges $40 USD per transaction, much higher than Ripple which only charges $0.004 for each transaction. Additionally, BTC conducts around 10 transactions per second, while Ripple boasts around 1500 transactions a second, incredibly higher than Bitcoin.

Bitcoin also operates on a Proof-of-work algorithm while Ripple uses a shared consensus system. Bitcoin also has a total of 21 million coins in its entire supply, with those being mined by cryptocurrency miners. Ripple holds 100 million previously mined coins, as previously mentioned, are distributed by the company.

Safety and Storage

After our comparison between Ripple and Bitcoin, discussing the difference between each leading cryptocurrency, before anything can be done in the first place, a cryptocurrency wallet is one thing every user needs. These digital wallets allow us to store our cryptocurrencies, manage our assets and operates on cryptocurrency exchanges or facilitate transactions.

With Bitcoin, all their digital wallets are completely free of charge. Ripple, on the other hand, sets a minimum requirement of 20 XRP tokens for one of their wallets. Due to this, picking the right wallet is incredibly important for each user to avoid spending the same requirement on multiple wallets.

Many wallets that support Ripple are available is just as many types. Additionally, many cryptocurrency exchanges provide services to purchase XRP and store the tokens on their platforms. Apart from the possibility of being hacked into and having funds misplaced or stolen, storing your XRP or any other cryptocurrency on an exchange is not often a good idea since the exchange will then be in complete control of your own assets. To determine which wallet is best suited for you, let’s take a closer look at each type.

As of now, Software wallets are the most popular and common way of placing your XRP in storage and come in many different types. Web wallets or online ones can be accessed from any device in any part of the world but lack in terms of security since a user’s private key, or password, is placed within the wallet and may be exposed to a hack.

Applications are also available for smartphones, different operating systems for CPUs, extensions of internet browsers like Google Chrome. To be more on the safe side, software wallets that save your passwords offline are highly suggested since this makes them immune to a break in by any online cyber-attacks.

Mobile wallets are applications capable of operating on any smartphone today. Naturally, countless apps that offer wallet services are currently available, however, for safety reasons, applications that save your passwords directly and only on your device should be used as opposed to applications offered by exchanges that store these keys online for example.

Desktop wallets are directly downloaded to a user’s computer. Alongside the previously mentioned mobile wallets, many companies offer desktop storage apps as well and usually enable users to synchronize both versions. Also previously mentioned, online wallets are essentially websites that host exchange wallet services and among all other wallet types, these are considered the most vulnerable. A user essentially gives up direct control of their assets by using online wallets since all keys and coins are stored on the issuing company’s computer servers, meaning they maintain control and management of your assets.

Hardware wallets are perhaps the strongest and most secure method of storing your assets. These wallets are designed to be unbreakable portable devices specifically designed for offline, or cold storage. Additionally, they can create new private keys and sign-offs without connecting to the internet making them virtually unhackable. To add even more protection, many of these devices now come with display screens to ensure and authorize transactions and transfers. They also provide a backup system in case it is broken or stolen, enabling a user to recover all their missing cryptocurrencies.

Even though they aren't as advanced as hardware wallets are in a technological sense, Paper wallets are almost as strong as they are in terms of storage security. These wallets are as the name suggests, papers that are printed out with an individuals' keys on them. Created offline, any malicious users out there won’t even know these wallets exist, let alone be able to hack into them. Even so, these wallets are still pieces of paper and can be lost or ruined by simply spilling some water although they are easy to keep safely stored in many simple ways. As one of the safest ways to store your assets, this includes XRP, is creating a paper wallet since it requires no online connection.

After you’re done creating or buying your wallet of choice, transactions with XRP become readily available. If you already own a good amount and you’re looking to sell, a few simple suggestions are available in regards to selling Ripple for USD or other digital coins through centralized platforms or P2P trading. To send XRP, head into your digital or hardware wallet, choose the amount you want to send and input the right address.

Coins for Dollars

Selling Ripple coins for USD can be done through any cryptocurrency exchange platform that provides services for depositing XRP and withdrawing US dollars. Also, XRP can first be traded for another digital currency and then traded again for USD dollars on any platform accepting US dollars. This method does take a bit longer but offers more choices of exchanges to use.

Selling Ripple to any of these exchanges first involves registering with the exchange of your choice. Once that’s done, the account must be verified to enable services like fiat withdrawal and exchanges will ask for basic information like name, country of residence and other identification documents at the very least. The next step involves depositing the chosen amount of XRP into your account. Following that, simply sell your XRP and purchase US dollars.

Bitfinex, another popular cryptocurrency exchange, will, for example, ask for a completed form online, a phone number and email, an ID or driver’s license, at least two different official identification types and much more. Bitstamp will even ask for a ZIP code, proof of residence, tax payment documents and more. These are all steps that crypto-exchanges take in order to protect users and themselves from fraud and scams that are known to plague exchanges around the world. Despite their anonymous nature, cryptocurrencies exchanges on these platforms require users to be able to at the very least identify themselves to verify accounts and utilize the offered services in safer and more secure environment.